Of Mice and Men: Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Introduction to the World

• The setting is South of Soledad, California.
• It has rich and lush scenery, including the Gabilan mountains.
• It is a rural farming area where migrant farmers move between farms.
• The migrant farmers lead lonely and impoverished lives as they search for work.
• Key characters Lennie and George are introduced.
• Lennie is physically strong but mentally weak, child-like, and unaware of his own strength.
• George is clever, tough, and takes care of Lennie.
• George and Lennie have a relationship similar to a parent and a child.
• George's care for Lennie causes tension and frustration.
• Lennie and George are polar opposites physically and mentally.
• The shared dream of owning land unites Lennie and George.
• Their dream is tied to the American Dream.
• Lennie and George were forced to leave Weed.
• Lennie gets into trouble because of his great strength.
• George instructs Lennie to hide in the brush if he gets into trouble at the next ranch.
• The main themes are dreams, hope, isolation, poverty, and the life of marginalized migrant farmers.
• George is described as "small and quick... with restless eyes and sharp, strong features."
• Lennie is described as "A huge man, shapeless of face, with large, pale eyes... he walked heavily, dragging his feet a little, the way a bear drags his paws."
• George says, "God, you're a lot of trouble."
• Lennie says, "I'd pet 'em... I pinched their heads a little and then they was dead."
• Lennie says, "I could go off in the hills there."
• George says, "I want you to stay with me, Lennie."
• George says, "Someday - We're gonna get the jack together and we're gonna have a little house."
• Lennie says, "An' live off the fatta the lan,' An have rabbits."
• George says, "Hide in the brush till I come for you."

Chapter 2: Complication and Conflict

• The setting is a ranch south of Soledad with a basic bunkhouse with few comforts, whitewashed walls, and unpainted floors.
• Candy is an old swamper (ranch hand).
• Curley is the boss's son which makes him antagonistic and aggressive.
• Curley's Wife is glamourous and flirtatious.
• Crooks, the stable hand, is mentioned in this chapter, highlighting racism and racial segregation.
• Slim is a jerkline skinner who commands respect and has a strong moral compass.
• Candy is the old swamper on the ranch.
• Curley is the antagonist, a small, aggressive character who dislikes Lennie.
• Curley's wife is not named to highlight her marginalized existence.
• George warns Lennie to avoid Curley and keep quiet.
• Candy's old dog is considered to be put down.
• Slim's dog has puppies, exciting Lennie.
• George reminds Lennie to hide if there is trouble.
• Lennie fears he won't be allowed to tend the rabbits if he disobeys George.
• Racism themes are shown as Crooks lives alone and is referred to in derogatory terms.
• Discrimination themes are shown as Curley's wife is discarded and faces isolation on the farm.
• George asks, "What's got against Lennie?" regarding Curley.
• Candy describes Curley as always picking fights due to his small stature.
• Candy notes she has "seen her give Slim the eye," referring to Curley's wife.
• George predicts trouble due to Curley's nature.
• George refers to Curley's wife as "Jesus, what a tramp" and avoids her.
• Slim is described as the "prince of the ranch" whose "word was taken on any subject" highlighting his leadership.

Chapter 3: Foreshadowing Intensifies

• The setting is the ranch in Soledad.
• The characters include George, Slim, Lennie, and Candy.
• George confides in Slim about Lennie and the events in Weed.
• Lennie is overjoyed to receive a puppy from Slim.
• Candy reluctantly allows Carlson to shoot his old dog to end its misery.
• Carlson says that he will shoot the dog in the back of the head so it won't feel pain.
• The dog’s death foreshadows later events.
• Candy is restored when he hears George and Lennie discuss their dream.
• Candy offers his savings to help achieve the dream.
• Candy regrets not having the courage to shoot his dog himself.
• Lennie crushes Curley’s hand on George's instruction.
• Lennie’s true strength and inability to release his grip are revealed.
• Main themes are dreams, friendship, hope, and isolation.

Chapter 4: Isolation, Racism and Loneliness

• The setting is Crooks’ room.
• Crooks is the marginalized stable hand who faces discrimination.
• Lennie visits Crooks due to his intellectual disability and unawareness of societal norms.
• Lennie reveals “the dream” to Crooks, despite George's instructions for secrecy.
• Crooks is cynical and laughs at Lennie and George's notions, finding it impossible to break free of poverty.
• Crooks reveals his loneliness and insight into the hardship faced by people of color in America.
• Candy enters to speak about the dream.
• Curley’s wife taunts the men, showcasing her nasty character and loneliness.
• Curley's wife threatens Crooks with lynching to demonstrate her power.
• Crooks is defensive and cynical but is lonely.
• Crooks offers to help with the land after hearing Candy’s conviction.
• This chapter's themes are racism, discrimination, isolation/loneliness and the power of hope and shared dreams.
• Crooks tells Lennie, "You got no right to come in my room."
• Lennie says, "I just came to look at my puppy."
• Crooks says, "I can't play because I'm black."
• Lennie says, "George says I gotta stay here an' not get into trouble."
• Crooks softens and says, “Come on in and set a while," longing for company.
• Crooks says, "It's just talking. It's just bein' with another guy. That's all." showing the need for connection.
• Crooks taunts Lennie saying, "They'll tie you up with a collar, like a dog," taking advantage of Lennie's innocence and scaring him with the idea of abandonment.
• Crooks reveals his depths of loneliness with the statement, "Suppose you didn't have nobody. S'pose you couldn't go into the bunk house and play rummy cause you was black."
• Crooks says, "I didn't mean to scare you. I was talking about myself."
• Lennie relays, "George says we're gonna have alfalfa for the rabbits," revealing their dream.
• Crooks dismisses the dream as crazy saying, "You're nuts."
• Crooks says cynically, "Nobody gets no land," claiming that nobody achieves their dreams because he has seen hundreds of men pass through the ranch.
• Shows Candy's discomfort as he has never broken the rules and been in Crooks' room before, with "Candy came in, but he was still embarrassed."
• Candy is defiant about their dream, "You God damn right we're gonna do it."
• Crooks remarks, "I never seen a guy really do it."
• Crooks shows his vulnerable side, "If you guys would want a hand to work for nothing – just his keep, why I'd come an' lend a hand," which shows it is human nature to dream.
• Curley's threatens: "You know what I can do if you open your trap?”
• Curley's wife demoralizes the men: "Nobody'd listen to you," she says.

Chapter 5: Plot Spoilers

• Lennie is in the barn beside his dead puppy.
• Lennie accidentally killed the puppy while trying to pet it.
• Lennie does not know his own strength.
• Lennie's love and accidental destruction of soft things foreshadows the killing of Curley’s wife.
• The puppy’s death foreshadows the Curley's wife’s tragic end.
• Curley's wife gains sympathy as she is isolated and lonely.
• Curley's wife had a dream of being a movie star.
• Lennie flees to hide in the brush, fulfilling what George told him previously.
• Curley vows to kill Lennie.
• Candy laments at the death of their dream.
• The themes are dreams, hope, loneliness and isolation.
• Lennie is innocent but trouble follows him in the style of the scene in Weed.
• Lennie is angry at himself, the puppy and Curley’s wife for causing him to lash out, although he isn't violent, he is scared when people scream or struggle.
• Curley's wife is a symbol of lost dreams and tragedy, but seen as just a possesion.
• George admits in this scene that he knew something like this would happen one day, so he runs away, then returns after the men discovered the body to seem innocent.
• In chapter 6 George steals Carlson's luger (gun).
• Curley's menace is revealed, instead of mourning his dead wife, he plots revenge.
• Curley will not stop until he gets what he wants.
• Lennie sitting beside "a little dead puppy" is an example of foreshadowing.
• Lennie proclaims "Why do you got to get killed... I didn't bounce you hard." - referring to the puppy he killed.
• Lennie exclaims "Now I won't get to tend the rabbits."
• Curley's wife describes that she is lonely, "I get lonely... I can't talk to nobody but Curley. Else he gets mad."
• Curley dreams, "I coulda made somethin' of myself" - a phrase by his wife.
• Curley’s wife says, "He says he was gonna put me in the movies. Says I was natural... I never got that letter.”
• Displaying her desperation Curley’s wife says "Feel right aroun'd there an see how soft it is"
• His overwhelming strength is foreshadowed when "Lennie's big fingers ell to stroking her hair”
• With accidental injury soon to happen, Curley's wife cries, "'Let go,' She cried. 'You let go!'" - as Lennie is stroking her to hard.
• Showing his panic at being caught, “Lennie's other hand closed over her mouth and nose", trying to prevent screaming and trouble.
• Describing inevitable tradgedy, "She struggled violently under his hands...And then she was still, for Lennie had broken her neck.”
• “And the meanness and the plannings and the discontent were all gone from her face. She was very pretty and simple…” - this description of Curley’s wife reminds the reader of her innocence and lost potential.
• Showing his understanding of Lennie, “Lennie never done it in meanness” - George knows that there isn’t a bad bone in Lennie’s body.
• George never believed they would achieve their dream: “I think I knowed from we’d never do her."

Chapter 6: The Tragic Final Scene

• Lennie's guilt manifests as visions of Aunt Clara and a giant rabbit.
• Lennie feels guilty for disappointing George.
• George acts gently, surprising Lennie.
• George plans Lennie's death.
• George tells Lennie about their dream, which makes the scene emotional.
• George asks Lennie to look at the scenery.
• George kills Lennie after pulling Carlson’s Luger.
• George Kills Lennie in an act of love and mercy, despite how hard it is.
• Main Themes are Love, friendship, mercy and kindness, and failed dreams.
• Candy says to his dead wife, "You wasn't no good. You ain't no good now, you lousy tart."
• Candy's dream is destroyed with "His eyes blinded with tears and he turned and went weakly out of the barn"
• Lennie is only worried about what George is going to say about what happened: “George gonna give me hell”
• Lennie's guilty conscience is "Out of Lennie's head there came a little fat old woman" his aunt clara.
• Another inner critique in the form of Aunt Clara, "You do bad things”
• The loss of his most beloved person; "The rabbit repeated softly over and over, "He gonna leave ya all alone.”
• Isolation and loss highlighted, "You ain't gonna leave me, are ya George?" -
• Lennie is afraid of George being mad about his wrongdoings by anxiously asking: "Ain't you gonna give me hell?"
• The loneliness of them is retold with, "Guys like us… ain’t got nobody in the worl’ that gives a hoot in hell about 'em."
• Lennie is happy to be in the dream: "'But not us,' Lennie cried happily”
• George is about to take Lennie's life, "Look across the river, Lennie" -
• With dramatic irony, "We gonna get a little place" - to kill Lennie with kindness just like Carlson's dog.
• “He reached in his side pocket and brought out Carlson’s Luger.” - Steinbeck skilfully raises the drama of this tragic scene one razor-sharp detail at a time
• George comforts Lennie saying, "Ever'body gonna be nice to you… Nobody gonna hurt nobody." -
• George remembers what Carlson said "He brought the muzzle of it close to the back of Lennie's head" guaranteeing Lennie a swift and painless death
• Slim comforts George: "You hadda, George. I swear you hadda.”
• Carlson reflects that "Now what the hell ya suppose is eatin' them two guys?" - displaying how lonely Lennie was.